


To Brie or Not To Brie

by misura



Category: Gamechanger Series - L.X. Beckett
Genre: Characters Are in Fandom, Fandom Allusions & Cliches & References, Gen, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:14:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27455566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: After a long day chasing sky pirates, Rubi's in the mood for some tea and light reading.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2
Collections: Yuletide Madness 2020





	To Brie or Not To Brie

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lilith](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilith/gifts).



By episode three, Rubi had begun to suspect her direct superior was working for the cheese-smugglers and trying to set her up to take the fall. Thus far, episode four had done nothing to disabuse her of the idea, even though the man still gave her half her mission briefings.

He was played by an up-and-comer, so that was no help: had it been Gimlet, an eventual break-up and epic showdown would have been a virtual certainty, but with this guy, Rubi figured it could go either way. She might find him dead and get accused of his murder in episode five, or he might stick around all the way to the big battle at the end. (Both, of course, was also an option.)

For now, she supposed it was best to focus on Gimlet's character: a sky-pirate nicknamed the Crimson Blade, rumored to be working for the British or possibly the Russians. Not in any way associated with the cheese-smugglers, which might mean a temporal team-up at some point.

Rubi liked the idea - possibly a little too much. In the here and now, she was still an officer in Her Majesty's Royal Navy who had a personal history with the Dauphine, an overabundance of ideals and a duty to pursue any and all trespassers in Her Majesty's airspace, be they sky-spirates or cheese-smugglers or a party of lost and very confused as well as confusing Belgian balloonists.

Humorous interludes were often followed by events taking a sudden turn for the serious, so Rubi tried to be alert. There was also a chance the balloonists weren't what they seemed: her win conditions only required her to complete her patrol, ship intact and crew's health at 80% or better, which might mean the real action was taking place elsewhere, or that discovering her real mission depended on her noticing something amiss.

Thus far, she hadn't seen anything, so she decided to let the Belgians off with a stern warning, for which she received some dirty looks and a notice that her actions today had worsened French-Belgian relations and that she was to report to her superior officer as soon as she got back.

Happily, that meeting would kick off the next episode; for today, it seemed she was done as soon as the balloon had vanished from sight and her lieutenant had delivered the news.

"I guess that could have gone better." Rubi checked: Gimlet and their crew had been facing off against a rival group led by an NPC, but the fight had been interrupted by the arrival of the British Navy, who had taken a number of prisoners. Gimlet's fate was unknown, though their ship had been towed to London.

By comparison, Rubi supposed she hadn't done too poorly. Plus, her theory of getting a filler mission seemed to be confirmed, which was reassuring.

"As of two hours ago, both #OfficerPirate and #RubLet are trending again." Crane displayed the graph. "Most fanfiction for _Clouds over Versailles_ seems heavily skewed to #EnemyMine, #TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou and #FoeYay. #DeskShipping has dropped by .7 percent during the past hour and is expected to stabilize at 14.2%, a good 30% less than #OfficerPirate."

 _Then I guess 14.2% of the players have terrible taste._ Rubi knew better than to voice the thought out loud. She told herself it wasn't really how she felt, anyway: ship and let ship was the only acceptable attitude, and if some people thought Rubi's character and her superior officer should end up together, that was their business, not Rubi's.

"Would you like to review the opt-in options in your contract with Tetra Corp?" Crane asked.

Rubi wondered if something in her expression had given away her feelings. Slightly better than having an anti-shipping soundbite for anyone to find in Haystack, but only slightly.

"No." In games, her character's shipping options were covered by her contract. A better known gamer might get more control; a newcomer, next to none. Rubi was somewhere in the middle; she'd chosen to opt out of #MajorCharacterDeath, and Tetra Corp had told her they'd opted her character in for #HurtComfort, #MundaneAU, #RoleSwap, #Explicit and #DubCon while opting out of #NonCon, #GenderSwap and #CrossOvers, though the latter was mostly a formality, since it was the first time Rubi'd played for them.

Opting in for #MundaneAU had gotten them some backlash; it created a loophole for people writing what amounted to RPF - for which Rubi had full control over her opt-ins and which would normally not generate any income for Tetra Corp.

Rubi could have made an argument of it. Public support would have probably been on her side, but she'd been looking forward to playing against Gimlet again, and it hadn't seemed like that big a deal. However reasonable their concerns, gamers who argued over their contracts might get a reputation for being difficult and Rubi hadn't wanted to find herself benched for the next big game.

"Would you like some recommendations, based on recent posts by @RubiFans and @GimletFans?"

"Anything especially good?" Rubi never read fics about characters she was still playing. Maybe once she was done with _Clouds_ , she'd go and find some fix-its, and maybe some fics where her and Gimlet's characters did end up working together, if that hadn't happened in-game.

Possibly, she'd print some ice cream and look for something where they ended up doing a bit more than working together. She'd seen Gimlet's cabin aboard the Risen Phoenix; it had what looked like a very comfortable bed, of a size big enough to easily fit three people.

"The ten most-viewed-and-stroked works of this week," Crane said, handing over a list. "I've taken the liberty of high-lighting the three I think you'll enjoy most and one by a new writer whom you might wish to send a stroke for excellence of characterization."

"I'll have a look." Rubi checked the number of strikes she'd sent this month. "Anything really bad?"

For RPF, she'd opted into everything, as was encouraged, if not required. Drow had opted out of both #Explicit, #ActionViolence and #HurtComfort, though he'd recently added exceptions for scenarios where he was the one doing the comforting, leading to a small boom of fics where people of various genders and ages would find themselves welcomed to Whine Manor and having heart-to-hearts with the Mad Maestro, who would then immortalize their meeting by writing a song.

Harmless fantasies, as was most RPF. Rubi herself favored #IntoABar and #DomesticFluff when she wasn't in the mood for something a little racier: there was something soothing about reading the sort of stuff you could watch people doing on Haystack, but fictional and thus, more predictable.

There was something seductive about the idea that she and Gimlet might cook a meal together, or weed a garden together, or cuddle on the couch together. It felt like the ultimate escapist fantasy, much more so than the two of them fighting sky-pirates together, or ending up having slightly kinky sex in Gimlet's luxurious cabin, decorated with the loot from dozens of sky-pirate campaigns.

Gimlet had never sent a ficwriter a stroke, as far as Rubi knew, which was fair. Not everyone liked reading about themselves. Rubi knew Crane kept an eye on her own reading habits, suggesting backstory fics for minor characters when he felt she was reading too many fics about getting together with someone already part of a pack and not looking for another partner @RealLife.

"I will look into the three most likely candidates, miss," Crane said, meaning he'd check to make sure Rubi wouldn't send a strike to someone at risk or too young to know better.

"Thank you, Crane." Rubi opened the first link: fanart of SkyPirate!Rubi and NavalOfficer!Gimlet - full-sized and incredibly detailed, though what struck Rubi most of all were the facial expressions, the way the artist had imbued their creation with a sense of desire and longing and, yes, love.

_Bad idea._

"While I know your preferences and respect your reasons, I did not feel I could leave that one off the list in good conscience," Crane said, sounding apologetic and not at all sorry at the same time. Had he been Happ, Rubi would have expected a storm of mojis: the work certainly deserved them.

She sent the artist a stroke, knowing it would be all over Sensorium within minutes. The work and the artist had earned the extra attention though - and perhaps the popularity of the ship might lead Tetra Corp to indeed go with the team-up story line, rather than another one.

"No problem. Fanart's all right; it's the fic I try to stay away from." Crane knew that, of course; he wouldn't have included the work on his list otherwise.

She looked at Gimlet's face again and swallowed.

"Number two on the list is a 50k gardening!AU with #SlowBurn, rated for general audiences," Crane said. "It might make for some nice bedtime reading."

"Yes." Rubi dismissed the art work, knowing she'd look again later tonight, and knowing Crane would know when she did. "Thank you again, Crane. That sounds good. I'll make some tea."

"Very well, miss. Good evening."


End file.
